Jitter buffer adaptation based on audio content

ABSTRACT

A system and method for discarding or inserting audio frames in a jitter buffer is described. The system and method provides improved audio quality as compared to conventional jitter buffer management systems. In one embodiment, buffer control logic determines whether to discard audio frames to be stored in a jitter buffer or to insert audio frames among audio frames to be output from a jitter buffer based not only on the number of audio frames currently stored in the jitter buffer but also based on the power of the current audio frame to be stored in or output from the jitter buffer. The system and method is generally applicable to any wireless or wired communication system in which audio signals are transmitted between entities operating in different clock domains.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The invention generally relates to communication systems in which audiocontent is transmitted between entities. In particular, the inventionrelates to systems and methods for improving perceived audio quality incommunication systems in which audio content is transmitted betweenentities operating in different clock domains.

2. Background

In a communication system in which audio content is transmitted betweentwo entities over a wireless link, clock drift between the two entitiescan result in a degradation of perceived audio quality. For example, ina Bluetooth™ wireless communication system, a wireless link may beestablished between two Bluetooth™-enabled devices. The wireless linkmay then be used to transmit audio signals between the two devices,wherein each device uses its own clock for sampling the audio signals.Because there will always be a drift between the two clocks, each devicemay periodically be required to drop an audio frame from or insert anaudio frame within a received audio signal to compensate for the drift.The dropping or insertion of the audio frame creates discontinuitiesthat ultimately impair the quality of the received audio signal whenperceived by a listener.

To help illustrate this, FIG. 1 shows a conventional wireless audiocommunication system 100 that includes a Bluetooth™ enabled cellulartelephone 102 and a Bluetooth™ headset 104. As will be appreciated bypersons skilled in the relevant art(s), a bidirectional SynchronousConnection Oriented (SCO) link 106 may be established between cellulartelephone 102 and headset 104 by which audio signals may be wirelesslytransmitted from cellular telephone 102 to headset 104 and by whichaudio signals may be wirelessly transmitted from headset 104 to cellulartelephone 102. For the purpose of this example, however, only thewireless transfer of an audio signal from headset 104 to cellulartelephone 102 will be discussed.

Headset 104 operates in a well-known manner to sample an audio signalfrom an audio source. Typically, the audio source is a user of theheadset and the audio signal represents the user's speech. Discretesegments of the audio signal, termed audio frames, are temporarilystored in a jitter buffer 122 within a Bluetooth™ controller 120.Bluetooth controller 120 then operates on the audio frames stored injitter buffer 122 in a first-in first-out fashion to transmit the framesover wireless link 106 to cellular telephone 102. At cellular telephone102, the wirelessly-transmitted audio frames are received by Bluetooth™controller 110 and temporarily accumulated within a jitter buffer 112prior to being transferred in a first-in first-out fashion to cellularbaseband logic 114 for further processing. The interface betweenBluetooth™ controller 110 and cellular baseband logic 114, designatedinterface 116, is typically a PCM interface.

The clock domain of headset 104 is different than the clock domain ofinterface 116. By buffering a number of audio frames, jitter buffer 112can help compensate for this difference, but only to a certain extent.For example, because jitter buffer 112 has a limited size, when thenumber of audio frames available in jitter buffer 112 becomes too great,Bluetooth™ controller 110 must drop audio frames. Furthermore, whenthere are too few audio frames available in jitter buffer 112,Bluetooth™ controller 110 must insert audio frames (typicallyrepresenting silence) in order to continue to provide frames tointerface 116. A common method for implementing this is to maintain afixed high watermark and a fixed low watermark for jitter buffer 112.When the number of audio frames stored in jitter buffer 112 exceeds thehigh watermark, frames are dropped. When the number of audio framesstored in jitter buffer 112 drops below the low watermark, frames areinserted. Each time a frame is dropped or inserted in this manner, adiscontinuity in the audio signal is created. This discontinuity greatlyimpacts the quality of the audio signal as perceived by a listener sincehuman hearing is very sensitive to phase changes.

FIG. 2 depicts a graph 200 that illustrates how an output audio signalmay be impacted by the dropping of frames from a jitter buffer in aconventional system implementation. In particular, FIG. 2 shows themagnitude of an audio signal 202 output from a jitter buffer over time.Also shown in graph 200 (as an overlay) is the number of frames in thejitter buffer, designated jitter buffer level 204, as well as themaximum jitter buffer level 206 over the same time period. As shown ingraph 200, when the number of frames in the jitter buffer reaches themaximum jitter buffer level, a number of frames are immediatelydiscarded. In the system from which graph 200 was derived, one half ofthe frames in the jitter buffer are discarded when the maximum level isreached. As also shown in graph 200, when the frames are discarded, acorresponding phase discontinuity is introduced into audio output signal202. One example of this is shown in the area circled by a dotted line208. Such discontinuities can have a significantly negative impact onthe quality of audio output signal as perceived by a listener.

As will be appreciated by persons skilled in the relevant art(s), theforegoing problem is not limited to Bluetooth™ wireless communicationsystems but can also occur in any wireless or wired communication systemin which audio signals are transmitted between entities operating indifferent clock domains.

What is needed then is a system and method for discarding or insertingaudio frames in a jitter buffer that provides improved audio quality ascompared to conventional jitter buffer management systems. The desiredsystem and method should be generally applicable to any wireless orwired communication system in which audio signals are transmittedbetween entities operating in different clock domains.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

A system and method is described herein for discarding or insertingaudio frames in a jitter buffer that advantageously provides improvedaudio quality as compared to conventional jitter buffer managementsystems. As will be described in more detail herein, an embodiment ofthe present invention determines whether to discard audio frames to bestored in a jitter buffer or to insert audio frames among audio framesto be output from a jitter buffer based not only on the number of audioframes currently stored in the jitter buffer but also based on the powerof the current audio frame to be stored in or output from the jitterbuffer. The system and method is generally applicable to any wireless orwired communication system in which audio signals are transmittedbetween entities operating in different clock domains.

In particular, a method for generating an output audio signal in acommunication system is described herein. In accordance with the method,a segment of an audio signal is received. The received segment is one ofa series of segments of an audio signal transmitted over a communicationlink. An estimate of the power of the received segment is obtained andcompared to a power threshold that varies in a manner that depends on acurrent number of segments stored in a jitter buffer. If the estimatedpower of the received segment exceeds the power threshold, then thereceived segment is stored in the jitter buffer. Otherwise, the receivedsegment is discarded. An output audio signal is then generated fromsegments stored in the jitter buffer.

In accordance with the foregoing method, the received segment of theaudio signal may be a frame of the audio signal and the series ofsegments of the audio signal may be transmitted over either a wired orwireless communication link. Furthermore, obtaining an estimate of thepower of the received segment may include calculating the root meansquared power of the received segment. Additionally, the power thresholdmay increase as the current number of segments stored in the jitterbuffer increases.

An alternate method for generating an output audio signal in acommunication system is also described herein. In accordance with themethod, a segment of an audio signal stored in a jitter buffer isidentified. The identified segment is one of a series of segments of anaudio signal received over a communication link and stored in the jitterbuffer. An estimate of the power of the identified segment is obtainedand compared to a power threshold that varies in a manner that dependson a current number of segments stored in the jitter buffer. If theestimated power of the identified segment exceeds the power threshold,the identified segment is provided for the generation of an output audiosignal. Otherwise, an inserted segment, such as a segment representingsilence, is provided instead of the identified segment for thegeneration of the output audio signal.

In accordance with the foregoing method, the identified segment of theaudio signal may be a frame of the audio signal and the series ofsegments of the audio signal may be received over a wired or wirelesscommunication link. Furthermore, obtaining an estimate of the power ofthe identified segment may include calculating the root mean squaredpower of the identified segment. Additionally, the power threshold mayincrease as the current number of segments stored in the jitter bufferdecreases.

A system for generating an output audio signal is also described herein.The system includes a jitter buffer, buffer control logic and audiooutput logic. The buffer control logic is configured to receive a seriesof segments of an audio signal transmitted over a communication link.The buffer control logic is further configured to obtain an estimate ofthe power of each of the received segments. The buffer control logic isstill further configured to store a received segment in the jitterbuffer if the estimated power of the received segment exceeds a powerthreshold and to discard a received segment if the estimated power ofthe received segment does not exceed the power threshold. The powerthreshold varies in a manner that depends on a current number ofsegments stored in the jitter buffer. The audio output logic isconfigured to generate an output audio signal from segments stored inthe jitter buffer.

In accordance with the foregoing system, the series of segments of theaudio signal may be a series of frames and the buffer control logic maybe configured to receive the series of segments of the audio signal overeither a wired or wireless communication link. The buffer control logicmay also be configured to obtain an estimate of the power of each of thereceived segments by calculating the root mean squared power of each ofthe received segments. The power threshold may increase as the currentnumber of segments stored in the jitter buffer increases.

An alternate system for generating an output audio signal is alsodescribed herein. The system includes a jitter buffer and buffer controllogic. The buffer control logic is configured to identify segments of anaudio signal stored in a jitter buffer, wherein the segments comprise aseries of segments of an audio signal received over a communication linkand stored in the jitter buffer. The buffer control logic is furtherconfigured to obtain an estimate of the power of each identifiedsegment. The buffer control logic is still further configured to providean identified segment for the generation of an output audio signal ifthe estimated power of the identified segment exceeds a power thresholdand to provide an inserted segment, such as a segment representingsilence, instead of an identified segment for the generation of theoutput audio signal if the estimated power of the identified segmentdoes not exceed the power threshold. The power threshold varies in amanner that depends on a current number of segments stored in the jitterbuffer.

In accordance with the foregoing system, the series of segments of theaudio signal may be a series of frames and the identified segments maycomprise a series of segments of an audio signal received either over awired or wireless communication link. The buffer control logic may alsobe configured to obtain an estimate of the power of an identifiedsegment by calculating the root mean squared power of the identifiedsegment. The power threshold may increase as the current number ofsegments stored in the jitter buffer decreases.

Further features and advantages of the invention, as well as thestructure and operation of various embodiments of the invention, aredescribed in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings.It is noted that the invention is not limited to the specificembodiments described herein. Such embodiments are presented herein forillustrative purposes only. Additional embodiments will be apparent topersons skilled in the relevant art(s) based on the teachings containedherein.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS/FIGURES

The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated herein and form partof the specification, illustrate the present invention and, togetherwith the description, further serve to explain the principles of theinvention and to enable a person skilled in the relevant art(s) to makeand use the invention.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a conventional wireless audio communicationsystem that includes a Bluetooth™ enabled cellular telephone and aBluetooth™ headset.

FIG. 2 depicts a graph that illustrates how an output audio signal maybe impacted by the dropping of frames from a jitter buffer in aconventional communication system.

FIG. 3 depicts an example wireless communication system in accordancewith an embodiment of the present invention that includes a Bluetooth™enabled cellular telephone and a Bluetooth™ headset.

FIG. 4 depicts a flowchart of a method for selectively discarding audioframes to be stored in a jitter buffer in accordance with an embodimentof the present invention.

FIG. 5 depicts a flowchart of a method for selectively adding audioframes to audio frames output from a jitter buffer in accordance with anembodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 illustrates a graph showing how a power threshold used fordetermining whether to discard or add an audio frame varies with a levelof a jitter buffer in accordance with one implementation of the presentinvention.

FIG. 7 is a block diagram of a first general audio communication systemin which an embodiment of the present invention may be implemented.

FIG. 8 is a block diagram of a second general audio communication systemin which an embodiment of the present invention may be implemented.

The features and advantages of the present invention will become moreapparent from the detailed description set forth below when taken inconjunction with the drawings, in which like reference charactersidentify corresponding elements throughout. In the drawings, likereference numbers generally indicate identical, functionally similar,and/or structurally similar elements. The drawing in which an elementfirst appears is indicated by the leftmost digit(s) in the correspondingreference number.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION A. Example Wireless CommunicationSystem in Accordance with an Embodiment of the Present Invention

FIG. 3 depicts an example wireless communication system 300 inaccordance with an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG.3, wireless communication system 300 includes a Bluetooth™ enabledcellular telephone 302 and a Bluetooth™ headset 304. Cellular telephone302 includes a Bluetooth™ controller 310 and headset 304 includes aBluetooth™ controller 320. Controllers 310 and 320 are each configuredto transmit and receive audio signals in a manner consistent withspecifications published by the Bluetooth™ Special Interest Group (SIG).In particular, Bluetooth™ controllers 310 and 320 may be used toestablish a bidirectional SCO link 306 between cellular telephone 302and headset 304 by which audio signals may be wirelessly transmittedfrom cellular telephone 302 to headset 304 and by which audio signalsmay be wirelessly transmitted from headset 304 to cellular telephone302.

For the purpose of further illustrating this embodiment of the presentinvention, the manner in which an audio signal is wirelessly transferredfrom headset 304 to cellular telephone 302 will now be described.

Headset 304 is configured to sample an audio signal from an audiosource. The audio source may be, for example, a user of headset 304 andthe audio signal may represent the user's speech. However, this exampleis not intended to be limiting and the audio source may be any entitycapable of producing sounds. Bluetooth™ controller 320 is configured tostore discrete segments of the audio signal, termed audio frames, in ajitter buffer 322 within controller 320. Bluetooth controller 320 isfurther configured to operate on the audio frames stored in jitterbuffer 322 in a first-in first-out fashion to transmit the frames overwireless link 306 to cellular telephone 302.

Bluetooth™ controller 310 within cellular telephone 302 is configured toreceive the wirelessly-transmitted audio frames. As shown in FIG. 3,Bluetooth™ controller 310 includes buffer control logic 312 and a jitterbuffer 314. Buffer control logic 312 (which may be implemented assoftware, hardware, or as a combination of software and hardware) isconfigured to temporarily accumulate the received audio frames withinjitter buffer 314 and to transfer the accumulated audio frames fromjitter buffer 314 to cellular baseband logic 316 in a first-in-first outfashion. Audio frames are transferred from jitter buffer 314 to cellularbaseband logic 316 via a PCM interface 318. Cellular baseband logic 316is configured to process the audio frames provided from jitter buffer314 to generate an output audio signal for transmission to anotherdevice, such as another telephone.

The clock domain of headset 304 is different than the clock domain ofinterface 318. By buffering a number of audio frames in jitter buffer314, buffer control logic 312 can help compensate for this difference,but only to a certain extent. Because jitter buffer 314 has a limitedsize, buffer control logic 312 is configured to selectively discardaudio frames when the number of audio frames available in jitter buffer314 becomes too great. Buffer control logic 312 is also configured toselectively add audio frames representing silence when there are too fewaudio frames available in jitter buffer 314 for providing to interface318.

As noted in the Background Section above, one conventional method formanaging a jitter buffer is to maintain a fixed high watermark and afixed low watermark. When the number of audio frames stored in thejitter buffer exceeds the high watermark, frames are dropped. When thenumber of audio frames stored in jitter buffer drops below the lowwatermark, frames are inserted. However, each time a frame is dropped orinserted in this manner, a discontinuity in the output audio signal iscreated. This discontinuity greatly impacts the quality of the outputaudio signal as perceived by a listener since human hearing is verysensitive to phase changes.

In accordance with the an embodiment of the present invention, buffercontrol logic 312 is configured to discard and add audio frames in amanner that reduces this negative impact on the quality of the outputaudio signal. In particular, as will be described in more detail below,buffer control logic 312 discards or adds frames based not only on thebuffer level but also based on the power of the audio frame currentlybeing received by or output from jitter buffer 314. In discardingframes, the goal is to discard less powerful frames to minimize theimpact of the adaptation. In adding frames, the goal is to insertsilence among less powerful frames, which also minimizes the impact ofthe adaptation. The specific manner by which buffer control logic 312operates to discard and add audio frames will now be described withreference to flowcharts 400 and 500 of FIGS. 4 and 5, respectively.

In particular, FIG. 4 depicts a flowchart 400 of a method forselectively discarding audio frames to be stored in a jitter buffer inaccordance with an embodiment of the present invention. The method offlowchart 400 will now be described with reference to certain elementsof communication system 300 as described above in reference to FIG. 3.However, as will be discussed in more detail below, the invention is notlimited to that implementation.

As shown in FIG. 4, the method of flowchart 400 begins at step 402 inwhich buffer control logic 312 receives a segment of an audio signal,wherein the received segment is one of a series of segments transmittedfrom headset 304 over wireless link 306. The segment of the audio signalmay comprise a frame of the audio signal. However, the invention is notso limited and the segment of the audio signal may comprise a sub-frameor some other discrete portion of the audio signal.

At step 404, buffer control logic 312 obtains an estimate of the powerof the received segment. Buffer control logic 312 may obtain an estimateof the power of the received segment by measuring the power of thereceived segment using any of a variety of well-known techniques formeasuring the power of a portion of an audio signal. For example, buffercontrol logic 312 may measure the power of the received segment bycalculating the root mean squared (RMS) power of the received segment.Alternatively, buffer control logic 312 may obtain an estimate of thepower of the received segment from another source. Such other source mayinclude but is not limited to an information field associated with thereceived segment. For example, MP3 and Bluetooth™ Sub-band Coding (SBC)frames carry information fields that may be used to provide an estimateof frame power.

At step 406, buffer control logic 312 compares the estimated power ofthe received segment to a power threshold, wherein the power thresholdvaries in a manner that depends on the current number of segments storedin jitter buffer 314. As shown at decision step 408, if buffer controllogic 312 determines that the estimated power of the received segmentexceeds the power threshold, then processing proceeds to step 410 andbuffer control logic 312 stores the received segment in jitter buffer314. If, however, buffer control logic 312 determines that the estimatedpower of the received segment does not exceed the power threshold, thenprocessing proceeds to step 412 and buffer control logic 312 discardsthe received segment.

FIG. 6 illustrates a graph 600 that shows how the power threshold mayvary with the level of jitter buffer 314 in accordance with oneimplementation of the present invention. The horizontal axis of graph600 represents the number of audio frames that are currently stored injitter buffer 314, wherein the largest number of audio frames that canbe stored is 200. The vertical axis of graph 600 represents thenormalized RMS power of the received frame, wherein 0 represents theminimum frame power and 1 represents the maximum frame power. The powerthreshold used for determining whether to store/discard received audioframes is the curve dividing region 602 of the graph from region 604.

In accordance with one implementation of the present invention, if thenumber of audio frames currently in the jitter buffer is 100 or less,then buffer control logic 312 will automatically store a received audioframe within jitter buffer 314. However, if the number of audio framescurrently in jitter buffer 314 is greater than 100, then buffer controllogic 312 will obtain an estimate of the power of the received audioframe and identify a location on graph 600 based on the estimated powerand the number of audio frames currently in jitter buffer 314. If theidentified location is in region 602, then buffer control logic 312 willstore the received audio frame within jitter buffer 314. Conversely, ifthe identified location is in region 604, then buffer control logic 312will discard the audio frame.

Since the power threshold increases with the number of audio framescurrently in jitter buffer 314, this has the effect of dropping framesof relatively low power in the presence of only a small clock drift butdropping frames of relatively high power only as the number of audioframes stored in jitter buffer 314 approaches buffer capacity. Bydiscarding more low power frames than high power frames in this manner,the impact of the dropped frames upon the quality of the output audiosignal is reduced.

It is to be understood that graph 600 represents only one manner inwhich power threshold may vary with jitter buffer level. For example, inalternate embodiments of the present invention, the power threshold maybe reduced along the decision curve to further improve the quality ofthe output audio signal or may be increased along the decision curve tofurther reduce jitter. Persons skilled in the relevant art(s) willreadily appreciate that the decision curve may be selected on anapplication-by-application basis to provide the desired mix of audioquality and jitter control.

In one embodiment of the present invention, buffer control logic 312performs the steps of flowchart 400 for every audio frame received overwireless link 306. In an alternate embodiment of the present invention,buffer control logic 312 performs the steps of flowchart 400 for only asubset of the audio frames received over wireless link in order toreduce the number of times an adaptation must be performed. For example,buffer control logic 312 may perform the steps of flowchart 400 forevery n^(th) audio frame received over wireless link 306, wherein n is apositive integer greater than 1. For audio frames in between everyn^(th) audio frame, the power threshold used by buffer control logic 312to make a decision regarding storing/discarding an audio frame mayremain fixed.

FIG. 5 depicts a flowchart 500 of a method for selectively adding audioframes to audio frames output from a jitter buffer in accordance with anembodiment of the present invention. Like the method of flowchart 400 ofFIG. 4, the method of flowchart 500 will be described with reference tocertain elements of communication system 300 as described above inreference to FIG. 3. However, as will be discussed in more detail below,the invention is not limited to that implementation.

As shown in FIG. 5, the method of flowchart 500 begins at step 502 inwhich buffer control logic 312 identifies a segment of an audio signalstored in jitter buffer 314, wherein the identified segment is one of aseries of segments transmitted from headset 304 over wireless link 306and stored in jitter buffer 314. In one embodiment, the identifiedsegment is the next segment to be provided to cellular baseband logic316 from jitter buffer 314. The identified segment may comprise a frameof the audio signal. However, the invention is not so limited and theidentified segment of the audio signal may comprise a sub-frame or someother discrete portion of the audio signal.

At step 504, buffer control logic 312 obtains an estimate of the powerof the identified segment. Buffer control logic 312 may obtain anestimate of the power of the identified segment by measuring the powerof the identified segment using any of a variety of well-knowntechniques for measuring the power of a portion of an audio signal. Forexample, buffer control logic 312 may measure the power of theidentified segment by calculating the root mean squared (RMS) power ofthe identified segment. Alternatively, buffer control logic 312 mayobtain an estimate of the power of the identified segment from anothersource. Such other source may include but is not limited to aninformation field associated with the identified segment. For example,MP3 and Bluetooth™ SBC frames carry information fields that may be usedto provide an estimate of frame power.

At step 506, buffer control logic 312 compares the estimated power ofthe identified segment to a power threshold, wherein the power thresholdvaries in a manner that depends on the current number of segments storedin jitter buffer 314. As shown at decision step 508, if buffer controllogic 312 determines that the estimated power of the identified segmentexceeds the power threshold, then processing proceeds to step 510 andbuffer control logic 312 provides the identified segment to cellularbaseband logic 316, which uses the identified segment to generate anaudio output signal as discussed above. However, if buffer control logic312 determines that the estimated power of the received segment does notexceed the power threshold, then processing proceeds to step 512 andbuffer control logic 312 provides an inserted segment to cellularbaseband logic 316 instead of the identified segment. Cellular basebandlogic 316 uses the inserted segment to generate the audio output signal.In one embodiment, the inserted segment represents silence although theinvention is not limited to such an implementation.

As noted above, graph 600 of FIG. 6 shows how the power threshold mayvary with the level of jitter buffer 314 in accordance with oneimplementation of the present invention. The power threshold used fordetermining whether to insert frames when providing audio frames fromjitter buffer 314 to cellular baseband logic 316 is the curve dividingregion 606 of the graph from region 608.

In accordance with one implementation of the present invention, if thenumber of audio frames currently in the jitter buffer is 100 or greater,then buffer control logic 312 will automatically provide audio framesstored within jitter buffer 314 to cellular baseband logic 316 withoutinserting any frames. However, if the number of audio frames currentlyin jitter buffer 314 is less than 100, then buffer control logic 312will obtain an estimate of the power of the identified audio frame andidentify a location on graph 600 based on the estimated power and thenumber of audio frames currently in jitter buffer 314. If the identifiedlocation is in region 606, then buffer control logic 312 will providethe identified audio frame to cellular baseband logic 316. Conversely,if the identified location is in region 608, then buffer control logic312 will provide an inserted audio frame to cellular baseband logic 316.

Since the power threshold increases as the number of audio framescurrently in jitter buffer 314 decreases, this has the effect ofinserting silence frames among relatively low power frames in thepresence of only a small clock drift but inserting silence frames amongrelatively high power frames only as the number of audio frames storedin jitter buffer 314 approaches zero. By inserting silence frames amongmore low power frames than high power frames in this manner, the impactof the inserted frames upon the quality of the output audio signal isreduced.

It is to be understood that graph 600 represents only one manner inwhich power threshold may vary with jitter buffer level. For example, inalternate embodiments of the present invention, the power threshold maybe reduced along the decision curve to further improve the quality ofthe output audio signal or may be increased along the decision curve tofurther reduce jitter. Persons skilled in the relevant art(s) willreadily appreciate that the decision curve may be selected on anapplication-by-application basis to provide the desired mix of audioquality and jitter control.

In one embodiment of the present invention, buffer control logic 312performs the steps of flowchart 500 for every audio frame stored injitter buffer 314. In an alternate embodiment of the present invention,buffer control logic 312 performs the steps of flowchart 500 for only asubset of the audio frames stored in jitter buffer 314 in order toreduce the number of times an adaptation must be performed. For example,buffer control logic 312 may perform the steps of flowchart 500 forevery n^(th) audio frame to be output from jitter buffer 314 to cellularbaseband logic 316, wherein n is a positive integer greater than 1. Foraudio frames in between every n^(th) audio frame, the power thresholdused by buffer control logic 312 to make a decision regarding insertingan audio frame may remain fixed.

B. Generalized Audio Communication Systems in Accordance withEmbodiments of the Present Invention

Although an embodiment of the present invention was described above inreference to a Bluetooth™ wireless communication system, the presentinvention may be implemented in any wireless or wired communicationsystem in which audio signals are transmitted between entities operatingin different clock domains. For example, FIG. 7 is a block diagram of ageneral audio communication system 700 in which an embodiment of thepresent invention may be implemented. As shown in FIG. 7, audiocommunication system 700 includes a transmitting entity 702 and areceiving entity 704, each of which operates in a different clockdomain.

Transmitting entity 702 and receiving entity 704 are communicativelyconnected via a wired or wireless link 706. Wired or wireless link 706may provide a bidirectional or unidirectional communication path betweentransmitting entity 702 and receiving entity 704.

Transmitting entity 702 includes audio input logic 710 that isconfigured to obtain an audio input signal from an audio source.Transmitting entity 702 is configured to transmit the audio input signalto receiving entity 704 as a series of discrete segments via wired orwireless link 706. At receiving entity 704, the transmitted audiosegments are received and temporarily accumulated within a jitter buffer722 prior to being transferred in a first-in-first-out fashion to audiooutput logic 724. Audio output logic 724 processes the segments fromjitter buffer 722 to generate an audio output signal 726. Depending uponthe design of receiving entity 704, audio output signal 726 may beplayed back to a user or transmitted to another device or system forfurther processing.

The storage of audio segments in jitter buffer 722 and the delivery ofaudio segments from jitter buffer 722 to audio output logic 724 aremanaged by buffer control logic 720. In particular, buffer control logic720 selectively discards certain audio segments prior to storage injitter buffer 722 in accordance with the general method of flowchart 400as described above in reference to FIG. 4. Furthermore, buffer controllogic 720 selectively adds audio segments to audio segments output fromjitter buffer 722 in accordance with the general method of flowchart 500as described above in reference to FIG. 5. This has the effect ofcontrolling jitter that may be caused by drift between the two clocksassociated with transmitting entity 702 and receiving entity 704,respectively, while also reducing the adverse effects on audio qualitywhich can be caused by dropping or inserting audio segments.

FIG. 8 is a block diagram of another general audio communication system800 in which an embodiment of the present invention may be implemented.As shown in FIG. 8, general audio communication system 800 includes afirst entity 802 and a second entity 804, each of which operates in adifferent clock domain and each of which implements buffer control logicin accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.

First entity 802 is capable of transmitting audio segments generated byaudio input logic 810 to second entity 804 via a wired or wireless link806. Second entity 802 is capable of transmitting audio segmentsgenerated by audio input logic 820 to first entity 802 via a wired orwireless link 808. Depending upon the implementation, links 806 and 808may be carried over separate physical layers or a combined physicallayer.

First entity 802 includes a jitter buffer 814 for temporarilyaccumulating audio segments received from second entity 804 prior toproviding the audio segments to audio output logic 816. Jitter buffer814 is managed by buffer control logic 812 in a manner consistent withthe methods described above with reference to flowchart 400 of FIG. 4and flowchart 500 of FIG. 5.

Likewise, second entity 804 includes a jitter buffer 824 for temporarilyaccumulating audio segments received from first entity 802 prior toproviding the audio segments to audio output logic 826. Jitter buffer824 is managed by buffer control logic 822 in a manner consistent withthe methods described above with reference to flowchart 400 of FIG. 4and flowchart 500 of FIG. 5.

General audio communication systems 700 of FIG. 7 and general audiocommunication system 800 of FIG. 8 have been described herein by way ofexample only and are not intended to limit the present invention.Persons skilled in the relevant art(s) will readily appreciate that thepresent invention may be implemented in a wide variety of audiocommunication systems beyond those shown in FIG. 7 and FIG. 8.

C. Conclusion

A system and method for discarding or inserting audio frames in a jitterbuffer has been described that provides improved audio quality ascompared to conventional jitter buffer management systems. Inparticular, the system and method makes drift compensation lessnoticeable as compared to conventional jitter buffer management systems.Furthermore, the system and method improves audio quality even whenthere is a large clock drift between entities communicating audiocontent.

Another advantage of a system in accordance with an embodiment of thepresent invention is that if the system is followed by packet lossconcealment (PLC), the system will make the PLC more efficient. This isbecause most PLC algorithms are based on prediction from a historicalbuffer. Reducing discontinuities in this buffer will assist the PLCalgorithm in avoiding the reproduction of similar errors in synthesizedpackets. Furthermore, if the system is followed by an echo canceller,the system will avoid a substantial variation in the bulk delay seen bythe echo canceller. This will typically make the echo canceller moreefficient.

While various embodiments of the present invention have been describedabove, it should be understood that they have been presented by way ofexample only, and not limitation. It will be understood by those skilledin the relevant art(s) that various changes in form and details may bemade to the embodiments of the present invention described hereinwithout departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as definedin the appended claims. Accordingly, the breadth and scope of thepresent invention should not be limited by any of the above-describedexemplary embodiments, but should be defined only in accordance with thefollowing claims and their equivalents.

1. A method for generating an output audio signal in a communicationsystem, comprising: (a) identifying a segment of an audio signal storedin a jitter buffer, wherein the identified segment is one of a series ofsegments of an audio signal received over a communication link andstored in the jitter buffer; (b) obtaining an estimate of the power ofthe identified segment; (c) comparing the estimated power of theidentified segment to a power threshold that varies in a manner thatdepends on a current number of segments stored in the jitter buffer,wherein the power threshold increases as the current number of segmentsstored in the jitter buffer decreases; and (d) providing the identifiedsegment for the generation of an output audio signal if the estimatedpower of the identified segment exceeds the power threshold andproviding an inserted segment instead of the identified segment for thegeneration of the output audio signal if the estimated power of theidentified segment does not exceed the power threshold.
 2. The method ofclaim 1, wherein identifying a segment of the audio signal comprisesidentifying a frame of the audio signal.
 3. The method of claim 1,wherein the identified segment is one of a series of segments of anaudio signal transmitted over a wired or wireless communication link. 4.The method of claim 1, wherein obtaining an estimate of the power of theidentified segment comprises calculating the root mean squared power ofthe identified segment.
 5. The method of claim 1, wherein providing aninserted segment instead of the identified segment comprises providing asegment representing silence.
 6. The method of claim 1, furthercomprising: performing steps (a) through (d) for every other segmentstored in the jitter buffer.
 7. The method of claim 1, furthercomprising: performing steps (a) through (d) for only a subset of theother segments stored in the jitter buffer.
 8. The method of claim 7,wherein performing steps (a) through (d) for only a subset of the othersegments stored in the jitter buffer comprises: performing steps (a)through (d) for every n^(th) segment stored in the jitter buffer,wherein n is a positive integer greater than
 1. 9. A system forgenerating an output audio signal, comprising: a jitter buffer; buffercontrol logic executed by a processor to identify segments of an audiosignal stored in a jitter buffer, wherein the identified segmentscomprise a series of segments of an audio signal received over acommunication link and stored in the jitter buffer, to obtain anestimate of the power of each identified segment, to provide anidentified segment for the generation of an output audio signal if theestimated power of the identified segment exceeds a power threshold andto provide an inserted segment instead of an identified segment for thegeneration of the output audio signal if the estimated power of theidentified segment does not exceed the power threshold, wherein thepower threshold varies in a manner that depends on a current number ofsegments stored in the jitter buffer and wherein the power thresholdincreases as the current number of segments stored in the jitter bufferdecreases.
 10. The system of claim 9, wherein the series of segments ofthe audio signal comprise a series of frames.
 11. The system of claim 9,wherein the identified segments comprise a series of segments of anaudio signal received over a wireless communication link.
 12. The systemof claim 9, wherein the identified segments comprise a series ofsegments of an audio signal received over a wired communication link.13. The system of claim 9, wherein the buffer control logic isconfigured to obtain an estimate of the power of an identified segmentby calculating the root mean squared power of the identified segment.14. The system of claim 9, wherein the buffer control logic isconfigured to provide an inserted segment by providing a segmentrepresenting silence.